Altered Realities: Book Two -Lila
by SarcasmIsMyIntent
Summary: & au verse fanfic! Johnny x OFC. See authors bio and footnote for info ! & Evette is just trying to deal with the loss of a daughter and a past that's made her life a mess since she lived through it and escaped when the grandmother who tormented her shows up with a 'surprise' that could lead to other surprises in her life. She encounters a face from her past in the form of Johnny.
1. Chapter 1

ONE

* * *

Evette

"No.. Seriously?" I groaned aloud when I saw the gridlocked traffic in the downtown area. Suck popping a bubble with the gum I'd been chewing, I flipped through the radio stations and stopped it on a college station, they were playing a halfway decent cover of Black Sabbath's Paranoid. Tapping along to the time of the music, I looked ahead at the non moving wall of traffic. "What the hell is going on?" I wondered aloud.

Everything in me suddenly wished I hadn't taken this way out of town. I'd already be home now, kicking off these fucking death shoes and sprawled across a sofa with a beer and a rack of babyback ribs that I had left from last night's takeout run. If I'd only gone the slightly longer way, I wouldn't be sitting here right now.

My phone rang and I picked it up, I smiled when I realized that it was Felix on the other line. "What's up?"

"Are you anywhere near downtown right now?"

"Stuck in this big ass wall of traffic?" I grumbled and Felix chuckled, admitting seconds later that he'd called to warn me not to take the downtown route because he was halfway at the front of the traffic gridlock and it didn't look like it was letting up anytime soon.. "Well, I wish I had a rewind button right now. You doing okay, man?"

"Yeah. Just trying to get a hold of Brad and Lucas, we were going to meet at the Rib and hang out.. You could come too."

"Nah, you know me.. I like my solitude." I laughed as I added quickly, "Besides… Tonight is American Horror Story night, remember?"

"How in the hell do you watch that crap and sleep at night?" Felix asked the question and I shrugged. Honestly, I've just never really found that one thing I'm terrified of. It's weird, but the way I see it, I lived through a literal horror story thanks to my bitch of a guardian Helena. I mean, if it could be done to a person to torture or hurt them, she probably did it to me.

As usual, just the thought of the woman had my throat closing a little and my heart fluttering just a little faster. "What is going on out here anyway?"

"Port Charles High had a truck break down during the Homecoming parade.. I mean that's what Brad was texting me a few minutes ago.. Not to mention somebody escaped the van going from PCPD to Pentonville."

"Great.. Can't they actually keep the fucking jailbirds in the jail here?" I asked, biting my lower lip and wishing I'd taken about two minutes to stop and get a drink from the vending machine. "Who was the escapee this time?"

"Don't know. Lucas is trying to find out now, actually. Said he'd text me back. We're moving up here a little, boo, so I'm gonna let you go. Stay safe out there in the sticks.. And given that we have an escaped convict lurking, lock your doors woman."

"Aw, c'mon, Felix.. we both know that if the jerk breaks into my cabin then he'll deserve the taser to the cock that I give him." I'd been laughing when I hung up, but as soon as the dj cut through the song Sail to give an update on the daily traffic report, the cell phone rang again.

"Just fucking great.. Can this bitch just… I don't know, can't she die or something? I thought she was dead." I grumbled quietly to myself as the panic set in.. The caller?

Grandmommy dearest..

I figured honestly that she didn't bother trying to find me, that maybe, just maybe, I was safe. I mean I'd hoped so, at least. So I was shocked to hear her voice again after all this time. So shocked that I almost wound up rear ending the car in front of mine when traffic started to inch forward just a little bit. I hung up the call and threw the phone at my passenger seat as if it were a grenade.

Seriously, I'm starting to wonder if some higher power doesn't have a hard on for tormenting me because my life has been a roller coaster with more lows than highs. I was happy right now. I was finally starting to work through the grief I felt at losing my baby and I was seeing a therapist at the hospital I intern at here in Port Charles to deal with my really fucked up childhood.

I was just a little closer to finally uncovering who my parents were and why in the hell they'd leave me to suffer at the hand of a grandmother who was at least one half sadist on a good day. And now, here we go again.. I beat my head lightly off the steering wheel and with shaking hands, I started to dig around in my console for the emergency cigarettes I keep in my car normally.

Because maybe if I smoked 3 at a time I could preemptively end my life before that old bitch came to find me and end it.

How the hell could I have been so stupid, letting my guard down, settling in here, in a town I know she's got deep ties to?

Oh wait… supposedly, my shitty birth parents are here and I just had to find them.

"I can go home, call in sick to Vaughn's, and then pack everything. I've done it before, it's not a big deal.. I'll just go on the run again." I muttered to myself as the line ahead of me started to really move. By the time I could see the sprawling lakefront houses in front of me signaling I was 3 minutes from home, I was laughing at my earlier panic.

She'll never actually find me. Calling me is one thing… actually finding me is another, entirely... I mean I've kept a wide berth of her since I managed to escape the estate she kept me prisoner on at 16. If she were really as bad ass as I believed her to be as a child, she'd have found me by now, right?

I'd convinced myself everything was going to be peachy and I'd calmed down a lot by the time I was pulling into my carport and getting out of my car. It was probably an idiots move to let my guard down and I knew that deep down, but… She hadn't bothered looking for me since my escape at 16, why in the hell would she bother looking me up now? Why the hell had she even called me? How in the hell had she gotten my number?

"I'll figure something out.." I muttered to myself, trying to get calm again. I really wasn't in the mood to be launched right into a full scale panic attack.

But the second my key hit the lock and I'd pushed the door open I realized the error of my ways because there she was, sitting in my living room. My mouth flopped open and shut and I swallowed hard, gulping in air loudly.

It felt like my head was spinning and down I went, hitting the hardwood floor of my living room with an unflattering thud.

* * *

Helena

"Don't just stand there, get her off the floor and shut the door." Helena gave her so called helper an annoyed look as she stared down at the brunette at her feet disdainfully. "Silly little girl.. you thought you were free of me. You were wrong.. Didn't I tell you that if I really wanted to, I could do whatever I wanted? Did you not think that meant finding you too?"

The man gave an agitated grumble and he hauled the curvy brunette off the floor and dumped her onto the suede sectional sitting in the middle of the room. Helena's eyes darted around the sparsely furnished house and she spoke again. "She hasn't done so badly.. I mean it's not a palace but.. Squalor is what those women are used to, it's in the bloodline."

"What the hell are we doin here, Ms. Cassadine?" the man asked, impatient and ready to get on the road again. If she hadn't given him half the money up front when she hired him to help her with whatever this bizarre quest of hers was to begin with, he'd probably have stranded her at least ten times by now.

"We're getting my affairs in order. I'm going to die soon and there are things that need to be done." Helena tapped her foot impatiently and she gave an exasperated breath when the little brat she'd taken from Sam McCall almost 23 years prior started to stir on the spot next to her on the couch.

The first thing the brat did when she came to, of course, was punch her, a hard right hook that connected with air when Helena remembered her penchant for fisticuffs and dodged it neatly. She clucked her tongue in disapproval and then spoke.

"I'm only here, child, because it suits me. I'm only giving you this because it suits me." and with that, Helena brandished a folder.

The brunette raised a brow and refused to touch the folder. Helena gave a dismissive laugh and stood after putting the folder neatly on the center of the little wooden table in front of the sofa they sat on.

"Come along. I still have to stop by my lawyer's office and record my will."

And with that, she was gone, heading downtown to the office of Scott Baldwin to record her final will and testament, not so much as a second thought to the girl she left stunned and shaken in her wake..

* * *

Evette

For about ten minutes after the bitch left, all I could do was sit there and take very deep breaths and wonder if it had all been a dream. And then I got up and walked to the door, slamming it shut and locking every single one of the four locks on it behind me as I walked into my kitchen and poured myself at least a fifth of the Jim Beam sour apple I kept in my cabinet.

After I'd slammed that back, I started to swear profusely, angry at myself. The woman who fucked up my entire childhood was here.. within distance to finally get my revenge.. and she'd looked sick and pale and weak, too.. And naturally, I was too much of a pussy to actually do anything so she walked the fuck away unharmed while I was now apparently going to have nightmares for at least a month and at least a week of panic attacks and jump scares.

Before you ask, yes.. it was that fuckin bad, okay?

Why else would I run away at 16?

Then I remembered the folder on my table in the living room and for few seconds, I considered just burning it. Whatever she was giving me couldn't possibly be good. All she'd ever given me was pain and bitterness and the feeling of being worthless.. I mean I honestly had to be, my own damn parents abandoned me with her.

She was the very reason I was broken beyond repair currently.

But curiosity won out and I sat down, picking up the folder by it's edges and opening it.. and when I saw the baby bracelet, I felt the bile rising in my throat and all I could do was make a series of unintelligible noises as I tried to process the meaning of the papers in the folder in my lap.

My own child was alive and well and somewhere out there.. How that bitch knew, or even knew about my pregnancy in the first place I'll never know, but apparently, she was slipping in her old age because normally?

She wouldn't go above and beyond to do most of the investigative legwork and then show up and give me a folder that practically leads me to my own god damn child.. …. _Or Evette.. this could be one of her sick jokes…._

It was a risk I wasn't willing to take. I was digging through my phone book and dialing the number of that little investigation agency down by the docks and crossing my fingers for someone to pick up the damn phone. A woman answered, breathless. "Jackyll and Morgan, this is Samantha Morgan speaking, what can I do for you?"

"I… this might all be some kind of sick joke my grandmother is pulling on me but I need you to help me find a child?"

"Can you come in and maybe we can talk about this in person?"

"Yeah.. I-I can do that.. give me an hour, I live out by Vista Point in one of the lake houses. And I'm sort of shaken up right now." I muttered and shocked, I sat the phone down on the table.

* * *

Sam

The doors of the agency opened with a slow creak and she heard her voice being called from the waiting area. Peeking out, she motioned for a girl who was almost a dead ringer for her younger sister Kristina to come to the back where her office was and as soon as she'd shut the door behind her, she asked the young woman, "What's your name?"

"Evette." Evette answered, holding out the folder she'd carried in under her arm and then telling her quietly, "It's like I said before, it's probably a sick joke my grandmother is playing on me, but I can't risk it.. I mean if it means my daughter is out there somewhere, that she was taken from me and I can get her back, I have to know."

Evette went back to ringing her hands and Sam studied her a few seconds intently, this weird feeling of familiarity creeping over as she did so. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"I'm an intern… at the hospital… And I work nights at Vaughn's?" the brunette bit her lower lip and Sam raised a brow but didn't comment, after all, it wasn't her place to comment. … _'But you're tempted to give her one of those motherly lectures your mom's always giving you… maybe it's because she made you think of Kristina… or Lila.'_

As soon as the thought passed through Sam's mind, she shoved it right back out again.

Lila died and as soon as she accepted it, the better off she'd be.. she'd had 23 years to accept it. She needed to quit concocting what if scenarios because the simplest fact of the matter was that her daughter died.

"Are you okay, Sam?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking.. I'll actually take this case." Sam started to prepare the receipt and when she'd finished and the brunette paid, Sam told her with a gentle and hopefully reassuring smile, "If she's out there, hopefully, I can find her."

"I won't get my hopes up.. I mean until that came to my attention, I'd sort of gotten myself to partially accept that she died an hour after she was born." Evette muttered the words quietly and after this odd staredown for about 3 minutes or so, she was on her way again.

Sam sat there, reading through the file, curious.

Something about the girl made her do a search for the girl's records and she raised a brow when she realized that they were sealed and she couldn't just do what she'd normally do and bypass to get into them.

Evette

Since my encounter that afternoon, I was too shaken up to really go into work, so I called in and talked to the boss, explained what happened. I'd hoped he'd let me take the night off, but he demanded I come in, something about a potential new partner for the club coming in and that he needed my act to really sell the guy on buying in.

"But last week I wasn't even one of your best girls."

"Bambi, you're the one with the magic hips.. that weird heavy metal belly dance thing that the jerks who come in go gaga over? I need it tonight, kid.. C'mon, help Saul out.. Hell, we lost Tessa last night."

"She quit?"

"Her man came in and dragged her off stage.. said she wasn't comin back. She called in today to confirm it. C'mon.. I'll pay ya overtime for tonight, Bambi."

"Ughh, god damn it, fine.. But you'd damn well better pay me overtime, Saul."

"Would I lie to ya, Bambi?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure how to answer that." I grumbled as I shoved my dance costume into my duffel bag and then sat down for a few minutes, just in time to catch the nightly news… and watch Johnny Zacchara walk out of Pentonville a free man.

I bit my lip and sort of found myself staring at the television set like I was in a trance. Have you ever seen someone and got this weird feeling that you knew them before? Or that there was this totally unexplained connection between you two?

I ignored it, of course and disgusted with myself for having dirty thoughts about a dangerous man, I turned off the tv and left to go into work.

* * *

Johnny

I've been out of Pentonville for about 3 hours and already, I'm thinking of becoming a partner at this club in town, Vaughn's. I was supposed to be meeting with the owner, Saul and while I waited, I was having a few drinks. I'm not entirely sure why I looked up and over at the door, but I did and when I saw her standing there, talking to one of the other girls… you know how it feels when ya get punched in the stomach really hard?

That's how I felt.

Right away, I felt this pull towards her and I nudged the guy sitting on my left, nodding in her direction and I asked, "Who's she?"

"Evette. She just started workin here a few months ago. Why, you interested? She's the only one of 'em I wanna see naked but she won't take her damn clothes off. Does some sexy looking dance that involves her hips and ass shaking a lot though. Stick around, man, she comes on at the end of the night almost but it's worth it.. Best 300 dollars I spend a week." the man slurred and I glared at him, for some strange reason this jealousy surged to the forefront.

It was quickly followed by relief. I mean at least she's not up there takin it all off, right?

I quickly pushed the thoughts out of my head and went back to nursing my drink and I watched her when she walked to the back to get changed for the night. There's something familiar about her.. Like I know her, I just can't put my finger on where I know her from?

But I just don't forget faces, especially not faces of girls like her.

I spotted Saul slinking in and I put on my game face, listened to his offer and countered it with one of my own. Business talk is really boring, so I was only partially listening to his entire end of the conversation.

He noticed my distraction and his eyes followed and he smirked. "Want me to get her over here, John?"

"Nah, I think I can handle meeting my own girls, Saul. Thanks though." I muttered as I watched her moving around the club, mingling, probably killing time until her turn on the stage. I couldn't take my eyes off of her and the costume, while not nearly as revealing as the other girls had been coming out in, well.. trust me when I tell ya.. it left little to the imagination.

I groaned inwardly and shifted in my seat because it's got to be the fact that I've spent a really long time on the inside and it's been a while since my last sexual encounter. When the people she was talking to were gone, I stood and made my way over, tapping her shoulder.

"Hey."

"Hi?" I couldn't help but notice that she was skittish, she'd nearly jumped out of her skin when I tapped her and the word hi came out as more of a question than a statement. I smirked and then asked casually, "What's ya name?"

"Evette."

I really got a closer look at her now that I was standing in front of her and for some reason she reminds me of this real shy and cute girl who used to live about a mile away from my father's compound. She raised a brow and then asked me quietly, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You were looking at me in this weird way, Mr. Zacchara."

"Have we met before?"

She studied me for a minute or two and then shook her head. "No, I don't think so.. I mean you remind me of this guy I knew..." she trailed off, laughing at herself softly. "Call me John.. Or Johnny." I told her as I nodded to a booth. "Wanna walk over and sit down, talk to me?"

"I'm about to go on."

"What about after?"

"I'm going home to crash in my bed.. it's been one hell of a day for me, John."

Before I could ask her anything else, she'd turned and walked away, disappearing into the door leading to the dressing area backstage. I stared at the door and for a few seconds there I honestly considered walking in, carrying her out.

But that's creepy and crazy and last time I checked, I'm neither of those things, so instead, I made my way back to the booth and ordered another few rounds, settling in to watch her when her turn came. Halfway through some really spastic woman attempting to chat me up and give me a lap dance, I looked over at Saul and told him, "My people will call your people tomorrow. I'll buy in."

If I'm co owner of this place at least I can see her now and then… I mean I didn't let myself admit that's the only reason I did it, but I knew deep down that it was.. there was just something about her that made me think of that girl down the road and drew me to her tonight. Besides, I'm handing over the mob side of things to one of my grandfather's oldest friends and bowing out.

Fuck this getting shot up bullshit. I'm still gonna be the figurehead for the family but I told Theo already that he had full control, do with it what he will. It's something I think that my mom would have wanted me to do.. it's what she was trying to get me to do before she got murdered.

I'd finished signing papers when Evette took the stage and internally, I had to keep myself from punching one guy in the throat when he started to whistle and cat call and try to get on the stage to 'dance with her'. I looked for her after her dance but according to the bouncer, she'd left the second her number finished and she'd emptied her tips for the night into her purse. He told me she keeps to herself, she's real skittish and she doesn't really stick around after she's done dancing for the night.

"Any idea where she lives?"

"Little house out by the lake." the bouncer replied as I nodded and then thanked him, hurrying to my car. All I want to do now is go back to the mansion and pass out for a few hours.. After I find the biggest and greasiest cheeseburger around, of course.

It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed again and to eat real food again. It'll be weird to live live as just Johnny.. Not Johnny the mob boss. For once I'm strangely excited for tomorrow instead of dreading it internally.

Maybe I'll even go by the club again tomorrow night.

* * *

FOOTNOTE:

 _ **If you want to know more about Lila/Evette, go to my bio and read her info sheet.. actually, i highly suggest you do that anyway because there's stuff you really need to know to understand this story and the character. in this story Sonny is NOT Lila's father. Sorry, I refuse to acknowledge Sonny and Sam ever having been an item. I didn't like them together and Sonny had enough children already. Lila is Jason's biological daughter here and Johnny's age has been aged down just a little.. He's probably around 28 instead of the age he would have been currently on the show.**_


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

* * *

Johnny

a few days later

I let out a breath I didn't even know I'd been holding when Saul told me that Evette wasn't working tonight. The crime scene tape was still across either end of the alley and I asked him what happened and if it'd been called in.. I mean not that the guys down at PCPD give a rats ass about this place but somebody was murdered in our alley tonight and that oughta mean something, I'd think.

I'd no sooner gotten the words out when I heard the irritating Texan accent of a guy I could've went a whole twenty five lifetimes without ever seeing again. Finding out tonight that the son of a bitch was alive all this time really pissed me off. I mean Lulu tortured herself over that shit. I didn't, but hey, I didn't like Logan Hayes to begin with at the time. "Well, well.. If it isn't Johnny Zacchara."

"Speak of the devil and he appears." I grumbled as Logan and another guy who looked vaguely familiar made their way through the caution tape, the forensic techs in tow. "You guys try not to botch the investigation, huh?" I snapped back as Logan made his way over and then asked calmly, "So.. what happen? She get caught in the crossfire?"

"One of the girls workin here found her in a dumpster when she came out to put out some trash." Saul told Logan as he shook his head. "Damn shame. Poor kid only lived here a month and she was one of my better dancers."

"You know anybody who might want her dead, sir?"

"What about you, Zacchara?" Logan asked me, giving me a commanding glare. I shook my head and Logan smirked as he said "Finding it real funny. You get out of jail on Monday and by Friday there are dead bodies turning up."

"That's my grandfather's MO not mine, asshole." I grumbled as I added in a harsh tone, "And anyway, all I do now is run the Star and co own this place and Extreme Motors. Ask around if you don't believe me. All I am to the Zacchara family now is a figurehead. Not that I give a damn what you think, Hayes. I mean at the end of the day, I never deliberately put my hands on a woman. So whoever did this," I gestured to the body bag on the ground by the dumpster, "is one sick bastard in my book."

The man who'd come up with Logan earlier called out to him and Logan jogged over, I paced the alley and asked Saul, "Think ya can give Evette a couple nights off? I want this sick son of a bitch caught before he strikes again. This is the second damn night in a row there's been a body in the alley. Kind of thinking it's not coincidence. Either somebody's dumping bodies back here, Saul, or they're using Vaughn's to 'hunt' victims."

"What makes ya say that?" Logan was back and he was all ears.

"Because one time is a coincidence, Hayes. Two times is something entirely different. You remember the whole TMK thing, right?" I asked, scoffing at him, shaking my head. "And they let your ass in the Bureau?"

"Fuck you, Zacchara. But as much as I hate what I'm about to say, this is one thing we agree on.. Maybe you should consider shutting up shop for tonight.. Being realistic, I'd say until about Monday. Can't do anything anyway while the investigators are on site." Logan told me. I'd already planned on that anyway, so I nodded. "Meanwhile, I'm goin to call a guy about installing security cameras back here. Why the hell don't you have 'em already, Saul?" I turned my attention to the other man and he shrugged, stammering. "Didn't think shit like this was ever gonna occur behind my club."

"Yeah well this is what happens when ya don't think." I snapped. I think that more than anything, I was just alarmed by how easily it could have been Evette they found out here. Both bodies were brunette and around her age.

I turned and walked back into the club and flopped down in one of the VIP booths.

* * *

Logan & Diego

The two of them walked the alley with the other forensic investigators and about halfway down the alley Diego spoke up to ask, "Does this feel familiar at all to you?"

"Feels like Seattle all over again. The victims are even similar, Alcazar.. Then again, I wasn't thinkin Seattle when we first got here."

"You were thinking that the TMK was back."

"Mhmm.. Did they find a phone with either vic?"

Diego made his way over to Greg, one of the rookie investigators and asked. He came back and Logan took one look at his partner's face and that confirmed it. "We'll have a go at the phones when we're back at the station.. But I think our guy is adding to his signature." Logan nodded to a message written on the wall with a lipstick laying on the ground beneath.

"I'M BAAAACK!"

"Fuck my life right now. Of course.. We move back when there's not only a potential fucking mob war but this crazy fucking fuck might be on the prowl again.. Or worse, it's the same as Seattle." Diego swore and Logan chuckled and then shrugged. "Either way, man.. Port Charles never disappoints in the level of crazy, does it?"

"Hell no."

"How's Adele doin? She was worried about moving to the same town as Sonny. Probably not the best idea to mention that the killer we were chasing in Seattle might be here now.. Or this TMK bastard might still be around."

"She wasn't thrilled because she was afraid it'd put Sage in danger but she's okay now. Mostly because I told her there's probably not much of a chance that Sonny will ever even realize who she is.. I mean not with the lengths her grandfather and her mom went to keep it hidden. And I'll be damned if I let something happen to her. As far as this, bet your ass I call a buddy of my dad's tomorrow and see if he'll guard her and Sage when I'm workin."

"Probably a good idea, Alcazar." Logan mused as he added, "We should get inside and see if Zacchara or any of the employees know anything or might have seen anything." and with that, the two men walked into Vaughn's, Diego making the joke that it felt weird going into a strip club.

"Not really, man. Well I mean for you, maybe.. You're married."

"If you'd stop being a dick and pissing off any woman who might be interested in you, Hayes, you might meet a great woman too." Diego mused, earning him both a glare and a shove from Logan who grumbled.

* * *

Evette

Almost as soon as I parked my car and saw the crime scene tape, I held my breath a minute. I think the first thing I was afraid of was that Johnny and another mobster might have gotten into it in the alley and someone died and that thought scared the shit out of me even though I barely know the guy. But as I made my way across the parking lot, I'd come by to pick up my check, one of the girls ran out to me and she was a hysterical mess.

"What's wrong?"

"Gracie.. They found her in the dumpster out back tonight."

My stomach churned because this is the second night in a row that they've found the body of one of our girls in the alley behind the club. The fact that both were brunettes doesn't do anything to ease my worried mind either.

I pushed open the doors leading into the club and I was promptly stopped by two police officers I'd never seen before and I eyed them warily but I answered everything they asked. Why wouldn't I? It's not like I had anything to hide. And the blond officer expressed concern, he told me that maybe I should consider taking time off because I looked similar to the two other women found.

"I'm good." I replied simply but I found myself surprised when Johnny spoke up from behind them and told me that he'd talked to Saul about it already and that the club was going to have to be closed until Monday now anyway.

"If it's even allowed to open then." the blond officer told me as he introduced himself and his partner. I told them my name and then went to find Saul about my check and find out what the hell was going to happen now with the club being closed.

After I'd done that, I honestly figured I'd slip out un noticed but halfway across the parking lot, Johnny caught up to me and tapped my shoulder. "You were busy before when I asked.. Any chance you're free now? I thought maybe we could grab a bite to eat."

I swear to God I meant to say no but when my mouth opened the word yes came out instead.

* * *

Sam & Jason

Sam was tossing and turning, the contents of the DVD she'd gotten in the mail from Helena's lawyer earlier in the week kept repeating in her mind over and over again.. Something about finding her answers right under her nose.. It seemed like Helena had been gloating then. She'd basically called her an idiot because she said that it was right in front of her, all she had to do was connect the dots.

She was also frustrated because the case she was working on for a young woman named Evette, finding her own daughter Katerina, was coming up all dead ends and suddenly, it hit her. The light came on in their bedroom and Jason rolled over, looking at his wife in concern. "Babe? It's 3 am.. Everything alright?"

"I need to do something." and with that, Sam slid out of bed and made her way down the hall and into her home office. She took out the file for the little girl she was trying to reunite with the young woman Evette and then she took out a legal pad she'd been taking notes on. Lately she'd been thinking a lot about some strange things that happened on the night her daughter Lila was born and the morning they were told Lila died on.

The similarity in the two scenarios was too much to be ignored and maybe that's why she found herself calling Spinelli. She needed a non partial third party, someone who wouldn't jump to conclusions throughout the investigation. She explained everything to Spinelli and Spinelli promised her he'd start right away looking into it.

She hung up the phone feeling just a little less ill at ease, but curiosity had her searching the background of the woman whose case she was currently working. And before she knew it, it was at least 4 am and Jason was getting up, getting ready to go down to the bike shop he and Sean Ashford opened together to open up for the day.

It left Sam alone with her thoughts and when those thoughts got to be too much, she called her mother for advice on what to do.. And her mother told her a story of her own. By the end of it, Sam was sitting in her office in the penthouse, shocked beyond all belief.

There was a possibility that she had a 28 year old sister out there somewhere too… According to her mother, she'd had another fling with Julian just before she'd come to Port Charles and completely lost touch with Julian for years and years.. And they'd been talking about marriage.. About trying to find her and bringing her home, raising their daughters together and being a family… It was something that neither Julian and Alexis had really had the benefit of having when they'd been growing up so for the two it had been important… But two things happened… First, her adoptive father Cody went on the run with her and basically disappeared.. And two, on the night Alexis gave birth, the same thing that might have happened to the young brunette woman she was currently working a case for.. It happened to Alexis.

"Hang on, Mom, someone's at the door."

Sam put down the phone and made her way to the door. When she opened it, there was no one outside, but there was a small package that could be documents and a disc of some kind and those were leaned against the door.

"That's weird."

She finished her conversation with her mother and Alexis told her, "That's why I told you the story I just told you, Sam.. I got a package too.. Last night around midnight. Kristina was coming in from work and she found it on the welcome mat."

"I'm gonna go open this and see what's going on. I'll call you back in an hour or so." Sam promised her mother as she hung up and sat down, opening the package.

The files and photos spilled out onto her desk and she gaped as she saw the same brunette who'd just hired her to find her own child in the photos with that child.. And younger.

And then something she thought she'd burnt in the grips of her grief, back when she'd lost Jason too and she just wanted to put everything behind her.. A monogrammed blanket and the charred hospital ID bracelet.

Curious, Sam opened the smaller box and slid the disc inside into the dvd player.. And when she saw Helena on the screen, she swore profusely. She honestly almost stopped watching but she made herself sit through it. She made herself watch as the door to the hospital nursery opened and the camera panned in on one of the cribs.

She made herself read the nametag.

Her stomach churned and she dry heaved but she managed to keep watching.

If this was some kind of sick joke, this went above and beyond… Because as soon as she watched the 'nurse' carry out Lila, the screen went black and almost immediately, she watched as the same thing happened a second time… On the night that the young woman, Evette's daughter was born.

She hit the stop button on the DVD player and called her mother back almost immediately and her mother confirmed what she was afraid she was going to say.. Alexis had been forced to watch in horror as the same thing happened to Sam that had happened to her.

"I can tell whoever Helena got to do this spliced the CCTV footage together and then put it on the disc.. If I can trace when they were made and where, Mom.. We might finally have something to nail that bitch to a wall."

"You do that.. I'm going to start looking into leads I might have.. I talked to your father and he thought it was all a sick joke.. Thinks Helena is toying with me. Something about it.. It doesn't feel like she's toying with me, Sam.. And honestly? It doesn't feel like she's really the one behind all of it, either.. Or if she is, she's not acting alone."

"But who else?"

"I don't know.. That's what bothers me.. When you start doing your digging, Sam… Because we both know you will… Be careful."

"I will. What are we going to do if they're alive, Mom?"

"Bring them home.. Let them know they have a family that would have loved them.. Can you look into this girl, her name according to the paperwork is Kylie O'Donnell. We have to find out the truth."

I'll take these DVDs to Jordan tomorrow so she can try to put a warrant out for Helena.. If she's going to play games, Mom, she's going to answer every single one of our damn questions too."

"That's a good idea. I mean we know a jail cell won't hold her… But maybe it'll keep her in one place long enough to find out what is going on and why she'd do this."

"She's Helena, mom.. She doesn't need a reason.. As long as she hurts people, that's enough." Sam told her mother..

* * *

Johnny

"I'm drivin you home." I insisted as I reached out and took Evette's keys. She grumbled and plunked them into my hand and I swore a little, shaking my head. "Were ya just gonna ignore the fuckin texts?" I asked, curious why she wouldn't turn over her phone to PCPD when Logan and I saw her phone sitting on the bar back at the club and she'd gone to the bathroom and Logan quickly realized that she'd been getting texts from an unknown number similar to the one that had texted the other two girls they'd found behind Vaughn's.

"Honestly, yes.. Because the killer doesn't want me. These texts, Johnny, are most likely from my ex and he's most likely using a burner phone. Look, I'll go down to PCPD and put in a restraining order tomorrow, okay? Lot of fucking good it'll do, but I will. In the meantime, you need to go home and get sleep too."

"Nope, not gonna happen."

"Damn it, John, don't be stubborn. Look, you barely know me, alright? What's it gonna matter anyway?"

"Why's me wanting to make sure you're safe bother ya so much?" I asked, curious.

"Because.. I don't know, okay? Maybe because I'm not used to people being nice to me and not just taking advantage or fucking me over in the process."

I eyed her and she sighed quietly. "My guardian, she lived here.. Kept me locked up in this big and almost empty house.. I'm pretty sure she was never around, she just had a bunch of men guarding the place or something, I don't know.. Look, the last time anyone was really nice to me? It was this guy named Jon and he helped me get the fuck away, gave me cash and took me to a bus station and told me to buy a ticket as far away from here as possible. That's probably the absolute last time anyone was ever nice to me for no reason other than they were genuinely a good person. So this doesn't happen a lot, okay?" she explained, falling silent right after, leaving me shocked as it sank in why she was so familiar…

When I was about 16 or 17 I used to just take off, hit the woods and go camping in this old cabin out by the lake on the side my grandfather's place stood on.. And I found this big house similar to his during one of my hikes..

There was a girl living there, and something about it didn't feel right.. I didn't question it at first, but those camping trips were an every weekend thing of mine for about 2 months solid.. And then one afternoon I happened to overhear two men standing around outside talking..

Keep in mind that by now, I'd gotten to know this girl pretty well.. And I really liked her a lot. There was just somethin about her and I knew that even if I couldn't be with her because of the constant danger, I didn't want anybody else to meet her, I was glad in a way that she was locked up out there so she couldn't meet another guy and figure out what a bum I was… Selfish, yes.. But that's not the point.

When I heard the men planning what they were planning ( _on the orders of their boss because apparently, their boss couldn't find a family willing to illegally adopt a teenager who had the money she was asking to kick around and she'd 'served her purpose', their words, not mine.._ ) , I knew something was definitely wrong with the situation as a whole and I knew… If she was going to live, I had to get her the hell out of there and I had to do it that night.. So I got her some things, stole some money out of my father's account and I went back and broke her out.

The last time I saw her, she was standing in the rain at the bus station downtown and I kissed her before I had to leave.. And suddenly, the pull I felt to Evette made sense.. I mean not complete sense, but a little sense.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked and I stopped at the red light and leaned in.. I pulled her into a kiss and then I muttered quietly, "Lila?"

Her eyes popped open wide and she bit her lip and muttered just as quietly, "Jon?"

"I knew I'd met you before when I saw ya at the club." I admitted and Evette gave a nod, admitted the same and then said quietly, "I just.. I didn't want to get my hopes up, say something or drop a hint and be wrong? I never really got to thank you, Johnny."

We were pulling to a stop in her drive by then and she raised a brow as she looked at the cabin. "I wasn't expecting a package."

"Whoa, wait.. Let me go in first.. There's a gun in the console." I took the gun from her and got out of the car, quietly making my way up onto the porch of the little cabin. And I picked up the package. By then Evette was standing beside me and she was eyeing the package in my hands warily.

"I'm gonna make sure nobody's broken in, okay?"

I think she was too afraid to argue, so she told me which key was the key to the cabin and I opened the door. After walking all the way through the cabin and even checking the woods out back, I texted one of the guys who stayed on after I stepped down.

He told me he'd keep an eye on her and get a security system put in out here and I nodded to the package and where she'd sat it on her table.

"Are you gonna open it?"

"I'm not sure I want to, given the luck I've had with mysterious packages lately.. It looks like a disc or something."

I took it and opened it. Sure enough, it was a disc.. and we made our way into the living room to watch it.. About halfway through, I gaped at the screen as I watched Jason Morgan holding the baby girl in his arms.. You know those parts in the horror movies where they usually have some kind of cues to indicate that everything is about to go to hell in a handbasket?

I feel like the movie we were watching ( which kinda reminded me of CCTV tapes, only spliced together in places) needed that kind of warning.

Jason had just put down the baby girl when the woman made her way into the nursery and picked her up, walked right out with her.. And then the screen went black and before we could stop it, it came back.. This time the footage was newer.. This time Evette was sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery of a hospital.

She jammed her hand into her eye, I saw her when she swallowed hard almost as if she couldn't breathe. "Turn it off."

I was about to when it happened. Evette put her baby back into the crib and after leaning down to kiss it on the forehead, she left the room, got helped down the hallway by two nurses outside. And not even ten minutes later, 'history' repeated itself.

The door to the nursery opened and in walked someone.. And when they walked out, they walked out with the baby she'd been holding.

"It's a sick fucking joke."

"It has to be." I agreed and then I asked her quietly, "So you have a kid?"

"Had.. The hospital told me she died during the night. I identified her body, everything.. And then a few days ago, I got a package in the mail like this one, but with a different DVD… I wonder why that first part was on there..."

Everybody involved in the organized crime world in Port Charles knows about the baby Jason Morgan lost.. We know because for a while after, the man was ruthless. He went after everybody he could think of, blamed all of 'em for his baby's death. We all thought he was losin it, my grandfather, he even tried to make the first of many grabs at Sonny's territory then because it was around the same time that Sonny was hallucinating, kept thinking he saw his dead wife, Lily, kept insisting she had to be alive and even went as far as to say that he didn't remember seeing her get into the limo that blew up and killed her...

I coughed and looked at Evette a few seconds. "There might be a damn good reason for that, Evette." I muttered finally. When I finished telling her about the baby Sam and Jason Morgan lost, she bit her lip and then hugged herself.

I went to get up and leave, it surprised me when she grabbed my hand and asked in a small and quiet voice, "Will you stay? I just.. Tonight's been weird and I'm afraid to be alone right now.. I don't want to be alone with my own mind right now or I might just lose it."

"Yeah. I'm right here, Lila and I'm not goin anywhere." I told her as I called my sister Brie and let her know what was going on and where I was so she wouldn't worry.. Then we settled in and tried to find something on tv to take Evette's mind off of things.

* * *

FOOTNOTE:

 ** _As previously stated, for all information pertaining to the series as a whole or just to learn more about Lila/Evette, go to my user bio and check it out. It's probably a good idea if you read it all anyway, just so you kind of understand where the whole alternate universe I've created for myself and you guys comes from and what's in it._**

 ** _This chapter has a lot going on.. But will the truth come out soon?_**

 ** _OMG I LOVE YOU GUYS! THANKS SO MUCH FOR MY TWO REVIEWERS .sex and mariposa101. I only hope that you guys continue to enjoy my little alternate realities as I write and add to them! Thanks for taking the time to review and favorite and follow!_**


	3. Chapter 3

THREE

* * *

 _Interlude / Mother and Son_

 _Johnny wasn't entirely sure why, but he found himself having trouble sleeping. He made his way down the hallway quietly, sitting in his den in the dark, a glass of Scotch beside him. He had the acute sensation that he wasn't there alone, and it wasn't just because his sister Brielle was sleeping in his mom's old suite of rooms at the other side of the house tonight._

 _It was more like something else, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. The distinct feeling he was getting that something was off or bizarre. When he smelled the all too familiar perfume, he sighed._

" _Here to remind me that if I pursue her like I wanna I'm only gonna get her hurt or killed?"_

 _To his surprise, he could almost swear that he heard the word No right next to his ear. He gulped down the Scotch and looked over.. Nobody was there, not that he could actually see. But the more he focused, the more he could see them.. She was sitting on the bench in front of the old baby grand piano and Johnny was right beside her._

 _She was teaching him to play piano.. The scene changed drastically and suddenly, Johnny saw himself sitting in Claudia's spot, teaching a little girl how to play while Lila, who was very obviously pregnant in this whole scenario, looked on from the couch with Brielle, the two of them had been stringing popcorn to put on a very small and sparse Christmas tree._

" _This is me telling you that you're heading in the right direction.. Some things are going to happen, John.. Always go with your gut, even when it seems like the wrong answer or the way for the worst possible scenario."_

 _And then everything was dark again and Johnny sat there, Scotch in one hand, his phone in his other hand. Before he realized what he was doing, he was dialing Lila's cell phone number.. Because when he'd first realized that he obviously wasn't getting any sleep, that's the first person he thought about and he found himself worried._

 _She'd went into work tonight, they'd had this huge blowup about it too. One quick text, he told himself.. But about halfway through the message, he got this strong urge to go to her, to go to the club. And so he got up and pocketed his keys, left his sister a note letting her know where he went just in case she woke up and freaked out, and then he was going to the club._

 _To Lila._

 _Because he had this really, really bad feeling…_

* * *

Evette/Lila

I hated fighting with Johnny earlier, but I need the money. I cannot afford to miss work. I mean I get that yes, he could and according to him, he would gladly help me, but the fact remains.. I am not and I have never been the kind of girl who just stands back and lets somebody help her.

So I'd come to work tonight, despite the texts I'd been getting, despite Johnny's adamant insistence that I don't come in.

I'd just gotten onto the stage and gotten part of the way through the dance when my eyes connected with eyes that just.. have you ever seen someone who looked like they were just empty and emotionless? That is what this man's eyes looked like.

It was weird but I saw a dark haired woman lurking nearby him, almost as if she were watching him like a hawk.. the only strange thing about this is that I could see the wall behind her, through her.. I blinked, sure it was lack of sleep due to the texts and the sense that I was being fucked with mentally as of late, and sure enough, the dark haired woman was gone.

But Johnny was sitting at a table right in the middle of the club, eyes glued to my body as he licked his lips and shifted in his seat. He's never really seen me dance before, so it was a little awkward for both of us. I think I actually missed a hip roll and then the accompanying shimmy but by then, my song was over.

I made my way to the back and I found a deep red rose sitting on the vanity I normally use to put on my makeup and my outfit.. and within seconds, Johnny was standing behind me in the mirror. His hands slid to my hips and I could smell the faintest smell of Scotch on his breath and I turned to look up at him.

"I thought you'd still be furious that I wasn't going to just stay home and cower in fear."

The boss called my name and I grumbled, signaling to Johnny to wait just a minute. And as soon as I walked over to the boss, he was telling me that the bar was backed up and he needed me to stick around and take out the empties and do a few other things.. basically when all this serial killer crap started, we lost a lot of girls.

I can't blame them for quitting.

I was just stepping out the door and into the alley, when the hand closed around my throat and I heard the deep and raspy voice next to my ear. "Well hey there, sexy."

Before I could even scream, the grip tightened and my world went dark…

* * *

 _Interlude – Maternal Instinct_

 _Sam could not explain it, but she was wide awake at almost 3 am. She sat up in the bed carefully, trying to sort through the strange and creepy dream she'd been having before waking up.. The baby was bundled pink and she was laying in the crib in the nursery as the flames licked at the wall. Sam screamed out in the dream and she'd tried to get into the door but the handle was too damn hot. Ultimately, she'd taken off her favorite black t shirt and wrapped it around the handle, then her mouth just in time to get the baby out._

 _But then the baby turned into the woman she was currently doing a case for and there were handprints at her throat and somehow Johnny Zacchara was there and.. Claudia?_

 _She could have sworn she saw Johnny's mother, standing in an alley somewhere in town, watching a fight between Johnny and a man in a black mask._

 _The dream had her fully spooked and she got up and made her way down to the kitchen and quietly, she made herself some green tea._

" _You know something isn't right." the voice was a whisper and it had Sam shooting into the air at least a foot, the glass holding her tea shattering loudly on the stone floor of her kitchen._

 _The light came on overhead and Jason asked sleepily from the doorway, "Everything alright, Sam?"_

" _I had this weird dream.."_

" _Wanna talk about it?"_

" _I'm not even sure I could explain it.. Hey, Jason? Can we go into the den? I wanna try to watch the news. I just have this feeling.."_

 _They settled on the couch in the den and turned on the tv just in time to watch Johnny declining an interview, noting that he seemed to be torn between rage and fear at the moment. And then, the reporter explained why that might be.._

 _There was almost a fourth murder outside of Vaughn's tonight and Johnny managed to stop it, to fight off a man in a ski mask who'd bested him for a few seconds and gotten away down another alley._

" _I'm going to the hospital." Sam told Jason quietly as soon as they showed Evette Nichols picture on the television screen. "I have to go."_

" _Sam, are you sure that's a good idea?"_

" _I have a feeling, Jason.."_

" _I'll drive you. Let's get Danny dressed."_

" _Thank you for just doing this and not questioning how insane it sounds." Sam kissed her husband and Jason pulled her close as he said quietly, "I love you. I'm not going to question it. Besides, I've learned by now.. your gut instincts are usually right."_

* * *

Johnny

I must have paced that damn ER drinking the shitty and stale coffee that Benson Hurst General had to offer for at least ten minutes before the doors opened and she finally came walking out. I met her halfway, picking her up. "Ya see now, doll? Do ya see why I didn't want ya going back?" I asked, taking a few deep breaths to allow my adrenaline to properly settle again, let my heart get back to a normal rate again.

It hit me then.. If I hadn't had the weird daydream earlier..

And then it really hit me. If the jerk realizes she lived through the attack and she might possibly be able to ID him, he'll definitely come back to finish the job.

"Okay, alright." she muttered, her lips brushing my neck as she spoke. We were on our way down to the elevators when I saw Sam and Jason getting off.

Sam rushed over and I raised a brow but explained what happened. I have this weird feeling lately.. If Sam hasn't figured out what Lila and I already know, she will soon.

But there was something panicked in her eyes, something worried.. it was almost like she had her suspicions, even now that Lila might just be the Lila that she and Jason lost.

" She's alright.. And she's not goin back to work there, either."

I got a dirty look from Lila, but I didn't really care. She relented and I texted Saul, explaining that Lila was no longer employed at Vaughn's and then Sam tapped my shoulder. "If you hadn't been there tonight.."

"I don't even wanna think about that if it's all the same to you." I explained as Sam gave a nod, she looked freaked out herself. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why, but it's not my business. I did ask her why she and Jason were here.

"Sam saw the news and got worried. She's trying to help Evette find her daughter." Jason answered when Sam couldn't for a few minutes. I had this feeling, there was a lot more to it than that, but I didn't say anything.

After Sam and Jason were convinced that Lila was okay, Lila and I left and about halfway down to the parking garage, I found myself back against the elevator. She pulled my lips down to her lips by the collar of my old gray t shirt and I deepened the kiss, picking her up. "Tonight was too fuckin close." I muttered against her lips as she nodded in agreement.

"You're stayin with me until they catch this jerk." and she didn't argue me on it, to my surprise. Normally, she's headstrong, she has to argue with me at least two or three minutes. It was like this when we were kids before I helped her get the hell out of town.

"I don't think it was the killer.. Not tonight.. There was something about this guy's voice when he talked to me before attempting to choke me." Lila admitted quietly and I looked at her and then said calmly, "Doesn't matter. You're stayin with me. This way I will know you're safe."

"John.."

"Don't fight me on this, okay doll? You're not gonna win."

"Fine." she mumbled, her hand slipping into mine over the console.

If it hadn't been for that whole weird daydream or whatever it was in which I saw my mom tonight… I don't even want to think about what could have happened.. And I'm going to try not to. Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if tonight wasn't my mother trying to show me that I'm gonna be okay, that I can be trusted not to get Lila killed…

I wanted to laugh at myself about it, but I just can't laugh right now.

But maybe.. Maybe everything was going to work out for me, for us.

"I wonder why Sam showed up tonight?"

"I hope to God that fuckin reporter didn't indicate whether you were alive or whether you'd been killed… Because if they told one way or another, Lil.."

"I know. But maybe that's the only way they're going to catch whoever this is?"

"Huh?"

"I don't think it was the killer tonight, John.. And now, the killer is going to be pissed enough to make a mistake.. Crime show logic."

"That's tv, Lila.."

"Fine.. When I'm right and the killer strikes tomorrow night, you owe me Pozzulos."

I chuckled and squeezed her hand. "So we're makin light of this now, huh?"

"Not really, I'm still scared shitless, but you saved my life." her lips met my cheek as she said the words and I pulled her in for a kiss when we got to the red light. "We'll go to your cabin and get ya clothes and stuff tomorrow.. I just want to fall into bed."

"Me too."

* * *

FOOTNOTE:

 ** _As previously stated, for more information on Lila/Evette, check out my user bio. Actually, it's probably a good idea to go now and just read everything about the series because some things are different in my series as opposed to what's actually canon to the show. Anyway, yeah, probably a good idea to go read all that stuff._**

 ** _And this chapter is sort of me including Claudia in here as well as giving Sam her own moment of maternal instincts too. I thought I'd try including Claudia here since you guys seemed to like it in Brielle's story, I mean she'd be kind of like Carly on the 'interfering / protective mommy' scale, so yeah, it makes sense that she'd show herself to her son Johnny too._**

 ** _I wanna thank all five of you who have reviewed and the 4 follows 5 faves I've gotten. You guys mean the world to me and I thank you for indulging my little wild hairs and reading them. I'm still shocked that so many seem to like this series, to be honest._**


	4. Chapter 4 Part I

FIVE PART I

2 Days Later

Interlude – The Truth Is Revealed

Sam & Evette/Lila, Johnny

The door to the diner opened and Lila made her way in, heart racing excitedly. Had Sam found her daughter already? Johnny's hand found her lower back and he mumbled next to her ear, "It's gonna be okay, Lila." even as he got this feeling of dread.. He could look at Sam and just tell that she was starting to figure things out, that she might be about to figure out that Evette was Lila, the daughter she thought she'd lost years before.

And he knew ( or he thought he did ) that 9 times out of 10, when Sam did figure it all out, if she hadn't already, that most likely, Sam was going to tell Lila just how dangerous a life with him could be. Johnny wasn't stupid, he knew that he was most likely on borrowed time and he wasn't daring to get his hopes up about anything.

' _But God do you hope that you don't lose her._ ' his mind was taunting and tormenting him as he and Lila made their way over to where Sam sat and took a seat at the booth on the opposite side of her. Sam gave him a wary look and then she turned her full attention to Lila.

Lila bit her lip, every part of her wanted to just burst and ask the question she was dying to ask, instead, she sat quietly, waiting as patiently as she could until Sam said with a smile, "I found Katerina.. And I got my mother to start filing the proper paperwork needed to bring her back here. The couple that was going to adopt her know they were about to illegally do so, so they're agreeing to turn her over and they don't want to take it to court." as she held out the folder. Lila took the folder and opened it, smiling softly as she looked through the contents and Sam took a deep breath.

' _Now comes the truth._ ' Sam thought to herself as she cleared her throat and started. "There's actually something I need to talk to you about, Evette.. While I was looking for Katerina… I found out something about you."

Lila looked at the other woman and Johnny's stomach churned. "What's that?" Lila asked, her heart pounding just a little, wondering if Sam was about to tell her what she suspected herself since she'd gotten that strange DVD and copies of her own sealed birth records earlier in the month.

"There was a lot of things in my search for Katerina for you that crossed over into my own search for a daughter that until earlier this month, her father and I thought to be dead.. I mean we were even shown a body too." Sam started and Lila nodded, propping her chin on her hand, listening intently. Sam continued on, "So I took the DNA sample you gave me to help find Katerina and I tested it against my DNA and against Jason's DNA… and the results came back this morning." as she stopped and took a deep breath and Evette asked quietly, "And? How did that turn out?"

"I thought we could open the results together.. I was actually too afraid to open it myself and too excited to wait until Jason made it in." Sam pulled out the unopened envelope and Lila took it, tearing into half as Sam tore into the other side. The papers fell out on the table and Sam picked it up, gaping at the results.

"Well?"

"You're.. You're Lila."

Internally, Johnny felt happy for Lila but also he felt worried, more than he had in a really long time.. He'd been this close at recapturing what they had when she'd been hostage in that house in the woods. He eyed her, worrying that when they left here, she'd be done..

What happened next surprised him. An excited Lila turned to him and pulled him into a kiss he wasn't expecting but he gladly reciprocated. Sam coughed a little and Lila said quietly, "Johnny, he's a part of my life.."

"And I'm not saying that I like it or that I even approve, but your father works for Sonny, so I feel like I really can't say anything. I'm picking my battles here. I don't want things to be tense between us like they were between your grandmother and I when I came to town and found her." Sam explained as she looked over at Johnny who seemed to be in shock. She addressed him next. "You realize that she has a one year old daughter.. So if this is just you curing boredom, Johnny.."

"I knew her a long time ago. Helped her escape Helena and leave town." Johnny admitted quietly, surprising Sam who blinked in shock. She'd known that Lila escaped the place Helena held her for a while when the first few sets of adoptive parents backed out because the risk and the price was too high for their liking, she just hadn't known that Johnny actually knew her daughter then. Lila explained calmly, " Johnny is a part of my life. I know the danger, but I also know that I'm smart enough, Sam, to know when enough is enough.. There's just always been this connection there." as she gave Johnny's hand a squeeze beneath the table.

"You know your father is not going to be thrilled at all."

"I know, but.. This is what I want."

Sam let the matter drop for now. Her mother's warnings came back to her, how she felt like she really messed up the start of their mother daughter bonding by actively trying to break up Sam and Jason, especially after she found out she was expecting Lila. Sam didn't want a repeat.

"Can I meet the rest of my family?" Lila asked as Sam smiled brightly and nodded. "They'd love that.. Does tomorrow night work?"

"It does.. I hate to rush away but I'm going to bring my little girl home where she belongs.. I just want to put this whole nightmare behind me and focus on everything good that's been happening lately. Here.." Lila wrote down her cell phone number and Sam did the same, both putting their numbers into each other's phones before Lila and Johnny made their way out of Kelly's.

Once they were outside, Lila stopped their walk down the sidewalk to look up at Johnny. "Are you okay?"

"Your mom's right.. about me… Even if I'm out and I'm just a figurehead for the organization now, Lila.. I can still get both of you in danger." Johnny started, but Lila's lips cut him off. "I know you'll do whatever it takes to keep me safe too.. I didn't want to leave town that day.."

She'd never admitted that to anyone before. Johnny raised a brow and Lila explained quietly, " I fell for you back then.. When you got me away from the situation, John, it only made me fall harder? And I always told myself that if I ever found you again, I wasn't letting go this time.. So if this is just..." Lila trailed off, suddenly nervous.

Johnny's hips pinned her against the brick wall outside of the diner and he pulled her into a long and slow kiss as his heart raced and he fought to process everything she'd just told him. "It's not, okay?" he muttered as the kiss broke. "I thought when ya left I'd forget.. And for a while, it felt like I did.. But I know I didn't now because when I saw ya that night at Vaughn's, it all came back." he admitted, pulling her into another kiss. "So whatever happened, whatever will happen.. I'm not going to let go again."

"You'll come with me, right?"

"To got get Katerina?" Johnny asked and Lila nodded. He nodded and then asked, "When do we leave?"

"She's only two hours away. According to Sam, my mom, I mean.. The people who were going to adopt her know we're coming and they've agreed to turn her over since she's mine and it's already been proven. They don't want to fight it out, thank God." Lila explained as they got into Johnny's car and started the two hour drive to go and do something that Lila never in her wildest dreams thought she'd be able to do..

* * *

FOOTNOTE:

 ** _As previously stated, for more information on Lila/Evette, check out my user bio. Actually, it's probably a good idea to go now and just read everything about the series because some things are different in my series as opposed to what's actually canon to the show. Anyway, yeah, probably a good idea to go read all that stuff. FYI: From here forward, I'm going to call her Lila. It's just easier._**

 ** _They're bringing Katerina home, yay! And Sam and Lila know the truth now. How will the rest of her family react to meeting her? And how will it go when Johnny and Lila actually go to get Katerina? And are things about to really heat up? Stay tuned, haha._**

 ** _I wanna thank all five of you who have reviewed and the 4 follows 5 faves I've gotten. You guys mean the world to me and I thank you for indulging my little wild hairs and reading them. I'm still shocked that so many seem to like this series, to be honest._**


	5. Chapter 4 Part II

FIVE PART 2

* * *

2 Days Later

Lila

It was one of those clean cut neighborhoods, the ones with endless white picket fences and for a moment, I wondered if I were doing the right thing, showing up a year after these people who'd unknowingly gotten my daughter and spent all that time loving her, raising her.. I took a few deep breaths as Johnny parked the car at the curb.

I was taking my daughter home.

But suddenly, every doubt I'd had before giving birth to her a year ago came to the surface. I felt Johnny giving my hand a squeeze as he asked me if I were going to be okay. I nodded and he killed the car.

As we walked up to the door, my heart was beating like a runaway train and I had to stop to catch my breath. I was excited and relieved, happy and nervous as hell all at the same time. I rang the doorbell and a woman not much older than me answered the door.

There was just something about her, suddenly I knew I was doing the right thing, I was doing what my own mother probably would have done had she known I was alive and well all those years ago. "You must be here for Katerina."

"We are." I answered her. She gave me this angry look but she turned on her heel and disappeared into the house. I stepped in behind her and Johnny stepped in behind me, his hand lingering at my lower back. I could tell he was tense too.

"Not getting a good feelin from these people, doll." Johnny whispered to me as I nodded and whispered back, "Me either. I have this feeling that as easy as we thought it was going to be? It's going to be harder."

"Let's just get her outta here and then we'll worry about the rest." Johnny muttered and I nodded. The woman came back into the room and for this split second, I could see it in her eyes.. She didn't want to give me my daughter.

After this tense few minutes, she finally handed me my daughter. I felt the tears starting to form and I took Katerina, holding her close, breathing in her scent. "Hey pumpkin.. It's mommy."

When I said that, the other woman gave this angry look and muttered something and Johnny spoke up and said calmly, "Don't even think of comin after Lila. Because it won't work." as he slid his arm around me. Katerina was crying and she wouldn't stop, but I knew going into this that bringing her home to somewhere strange as opposed to what she'd grown used to.. I knew there was going to be a little adjusting to be done.

But it still hurt a little.. I mean she's my child.

I was supposed to be her mother, she was supposed to be with me.. Not with some strange family.

Hopefully, she'll get used to me.

Too tense to stick around, Johnny and I left with Katerina almost five minutes later and Johnny spoke up about twenty minutes later to say that he was going to put one of the guys working for him on Katerina and I.

"You have a feeling she's going to try something.. Don't you?"

"I do.. and I'm not gonna let something happen to you or Katerina." Johnny gave my hand a squeeze. He smiled as he looked into the rearview at my daughter sleeping and then said quietly, "But I'm gonna be honest up front, Lila… I don't know what the fuck I'm doing with kids."

"I'm just worried I'm going to completely fuck this up too." I muttered as he told me quietly, "But I did mean it. I wanna make this work between us."

"Me too… So I guess we're going to try and figure out everything together?" I asked, looking over at him, a nervous smile. I don't think I'd ever been as excited as I was tonight, knowing my daughter wasn't dead, knowing it had all been a horrible nightmare.

Port Charles was coming into view and my cell phone was ringing. I smiled and answered, it was my mother.

"How'd it all go?"

"It was tense.. I have this feeling that she just said she'd do this without a fight, Mom.." I admitted quietly and my mother swore under her breath as she said a few seconds later, "You have your grandmother and I. She won't take Katerina."

"She's got me too." Johnny spoke up as I gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

I could tell my mom wasn't happy, Johnny was with me, but I just wanted to let Katerina meet her granrdparents. "Are you guys still awake?"

"We are, actually. Danny went to some Halloween thing at school and we're trying to get him off the sugar high he's on.. Your dad insisted on letting him eat 2 cupcakes and a handful of candy."

I laughed. "Yikes.. Well, we're gonna come by with Katerina. I just… I wanted to see everybody."

"We'd love that."

Johnny was tense and I told him quietly, "I want to get to know them.. And if we're going to make this work, we're all just sort of going to have to deal with each other.." as he nodded and then chuckled as he told me, "Guess this isn't a good time to tell ya I may have pointed a gun at ya dad a few times before I got out of it all?"

"Seriously?" I gaped and groaned inwardly.

"Mhmm.. But he was holding one at me too, doll."

"And that makes me feel so much better." I groaned a little, shaking my head. I leaned in, brushing my lips to his cheek. "I'm just glad you're trying to get out of it all."

"Me too. It's not somethin I wanted in the first place." Johnny chuckled as he pulled to a stop in the parking garage at my parents apartment complex. We got out and I got Katerina out of the car seat. She reached for Johnny.

Parts of me were happy because it meant she felt comfortable with him.. But other parts of me wished she was that comfortable with me too. Johnny saw the frown and then said quietly, "It'll take time, babe.. But she'll get used to us."

"I hope so. I just hate that this even happened. I could kill that b – I – t – c – h honestly." and Johnny snickered at me. "She's only a year old."

"Yeah? Well I don't want her getting my mouth." I gave him a smile and he chuckled, agreeing.

* * *

Interlude

 _what every mother wants – Claudia_

 _Thanks to AJ teaching her how to come and go better and Emily explaining that it worked better for spirits to come and go in the days leading up to and following Halloween, Claudia was able to see something she'd often told herself she was never going to get to see._

 _She watched Johnny carrying the little dark haired girl and for a minute, she thought she felt like she wanted to cry. All the milestones she was going to miss, all the milestones she'd already missed in her own children's lives.. She sighed quietly and she stood there, watching Johnny and Lila walking towards the penthouse owned by Jason and Sam Morgan._

" _I can't say I saw this coming, but.. She's not like the others.. I think this time he'll be happy.. If he does what he promised me the night he came to my grave and he gets the hell out of the mob now and lets Gino Jr and Vinnie take over. He can have the life I wanted him to have.. He and Brielle can live normally, have families.."_

 _It eased her mind to know that her son was finally doing what she wanted him to do, walking away from the mob life. It was all she wanted for him or her daughter Brielle, really.._

 _She just wanted him to have the normal she hadn't gotten._

 _Seeing that Johnny was alright, that he and Lila seemed to be trying to make things work, Claudia left them be for the time being and she went to go and check in on her daughter Brielle for the night. Brielle was really worrying her._

 _Johnny was finally doing exactly what he should have._

* * *

Jason, Sam and Danny, Johnny, Lila and Katerina

"So she's on her way now?" Jason asked, smiling. He hugged Sam and shook his head as Danny tried to sneak more candy from the bowl. "You've had enough tonight, kiddo." Jason chuckled as he bent and picked up their son.

"You're gonna have company."

Danny smiled and nodded, "Mommy said she found my sister."

"She did, kiddo.. and you have a niece too."

"Cool!" Danny laughed as Sam hugged Jason and then smiled up at him. The doorbell rang and Sam opened it, hugging Lila and taking the little girl, cooing and smiling. "She's so beautiful."

Jason stood frozen.. Everything he'd hoped for was happening. Finally, he got his body and brain to work and he made his way over, hugging his daughter tightly. "What the hell is that jerk doing here?" he asked Lila, nodding to Johnny.

"He's with me."

"Not for long." Jason muttered, grumbling at Johnny. Johnny glared and then muttered something under his breath and Sam and Lila exchanged worried glances. Lila hugged her father and then said calmly, "Johnny isn't the guy you think he is."

"He's still dangerous."

"Dad."

"Lila, I'm telling you. Being involved with this guy is a very bad.." Jason trailed off because Sam elbowed him covertly. He hated biting his tongue but maybe Sam had a point.

But it didn't stop him from keeping a really keen eye on Johnny, waiting on the guy to fuck up because inevitably, he was going to, he always did. A nudge from Sam had him going silent for the moment.. He was actually pretty confident that he wouldn't have to say anything because Johnny would mess all of it up sooner or later. He did give Johnny a cool glare and tell him through a tightly gritted jaw, "If one hair on either of their heads is hurt because of you, Zacchara, there will be nowhere to hide."

"If either of them get hurt because of me, Morgan, I expect ya to come after me." Johnny admitted, keeping a calm and even tone of voice. Tonight had already been stressful enough for Lila, he didn't want to do anything to add to it. He did think back to earlier, the odd behavior of the woman who'd had Lila's daughter and he told Jason quietly, "Do with this what you will, Jason, but I think the woman who was tryin to adopt Katerina is gonna try something to get her back."

"What makes you say that?"

"She acted shady. Entirely too calm but you could take one look at her and tell.. She was not happy to be giving Katerina back to Lila."

"I'll let Sam know and I'll get somebody on it."

Sam looked up from the few photos Lila did have to show her and then smiled, hugging her again. "Your grandmother is beyond excited.. And she wants to meet you soon."

"I'd love that." Lila admitted, smiling as she and Sam started to plan a big family get together for the night after Halloween. After they'd sat there and talked a little longer, Lila and Johnny set off for Lila's cabin to get all the things she'd need for Katerina that she'd put in the attic. "You're sure you don't mind both of us underfoot? I think the danger is passed me, Johnny.."

"I want ya there.. Both of ya." Johnny pressed a kiss to her hand and smiled at her.

* * *

Johnny

The crib's parts were spread out around me and Brielle and Lila stood there, giggling as I swore at the damn diagram. "What do ya have to be, a NASA engineer?" I grumbled, stopping to take a sip of the bottled water Lila bought in to me. "I can help." she suggested and I shook my head. "I wanna do this. I'm gonna do this. This crib is not gonna get the best of me." I grumbled, shooting the crib parts another death glare.

"That's all well and good, brother, but.. You're putting it together backwards?" Brielle was looking at the instructions while she walked around the living room with Katerina. For a few seconds, I felt like our mother had to be watching, she had to be here somehow, I got the same feeling as I had the night I couldn't sleep and I'd seen the memory and then the 'vision' she'd apparently shown me. I have this feeling though, if she is here with us, she's probably laughing right now because I've been at it, trying to assemble this crib for about an hour now and it's still in pieces.. Bigger pieces, but it's still not ready for Katerina to sleep in. Lila took Katerina and she was walking around the room now, humming to her as she peered out the window in the bedroom we'd designated as the nursery. I couldn't help but stop assembling the crib and just sit there, watching her, sort of wondering in my mind what could have been if I hadn't helped her run back then… Or if I'd went with her..

Before I even realized it, my mind was going in quite a few interesting different directions and Lila had been talking to me a few minutes now and I chuckled, nodding. She giggled and then said "So you do want help?"

"Yeah.. I mean I was gonna do it but if you want to help, babe."

Lila sat down beside me, holding Katerina in her lap as she read the directions off to me and handed me pieces and tools. Brielle peeked in at one point and told us she'd ordered Chinese and I gave my sister a thumbs up. The crib was finally done after two hours at it.

"You think it'll stay together, right?" I eyed it critically and Lila stood, letting me take Katerina. I laughed as she climbed into the crib and took out my phone, taking a picture before she could get out. "If it'll hold me, Johnny, it'll hold Katerina." Lila raised to tiptoe to press her lips to my cheek and I pulled her into a real kiss. "Let's hope so, babe." I muttered against her lips as I hugged her against me and Katerina reached for her. "See? She's already starting to get used to you and get comfortable." I told Lila, she'd been upset earlier and worried that Katerina wouldn't.

"I hope so."

* * *

FOOTNOTE:

 ** _As previously stated, for more information on Lila/Evette, check out my user bio. Actually, it's probably a good idea to go now and just read everything about the series because some things are different in my series as opposed to what's actually canon to the show. Anyway, yeah, probably a good idea to go read all that stuff. FYI: From here forward, I'm going to call her Lila. It's just easier._**

I want to thank everyone who's reviewed and encouraged me to continue, I love you all so much. I'm working on their halloween chapter now, I just wanted to get this one finished and posted first! Thank you all so much for reading these!

And in this chapter we have a little showdown between Jason and Johnny... How will all this go for Johnny and Lila now that she has Katerina back and her parents know who she is?


End file.
